"The Siren" in all her majesty. She was made by hand at our workshop in SE Portland, OR.

You probably noticed that the "Siren," our most popular razor, has dropped in price and taken the place of the old "Gustave." The drop in price does not reflect any change in quality or manufacturing, simply that we make more of them and want to continue offering a razor that is affordable for beginners just starting with straight shaving, and which is also competitive with other quality straight razor manufacturers.

We get an email every day now, asking, "Why are your razors so cheap?" They aren't cheap, we just feel people should get what they pay for. There are a lot of factors that have informed our pricing, the first being a philosophy of "American-Made" It is our belief that "American-Made," while certainly a point of pride for us, does not automatically allow us to charge a premium. If anything, it should mean the opposite! The whole idea behind import taxes is to drive up the price of foreign goods enough to give consumers incentive to support local markets, and goods made here should therefore be more affordable.

The second factor that informs our pricing is lifestyle. We aren't trying to make a killing, just a living: we are a small company with few employees (for now) and we share a simple lifestyle that focuses on wellness, making a positive impact, and conservation. As we've mentioned in previous posts, we had a hard time finding a quality, American-made straight razor that was affordable for us at the time. For this reason alone, we knew that our first razor had to be reachable for most people.

The third factor was quality. Making our products by hand means that each razor and strop is given individual attention throughout its manufacture. We knew that performance and consistency was more important to us than aesthetic and luxury. Yes, we thoroughly enjoy making beautiful razors and indulge by taking on a good number of custom projects, but our standard line needed to be just that: standard. We make them the same way every time, and this streamlines their manufacture while still having the benefit of being hand-made. It's not the fastest or the cheapest way to make a razor, but it is the best way we know to do it.